Shannon E. Mackey would like to announce his candidacy for the office of mayor in the town of Leesburg.

A son of Diane Mackey and the late Edward Mackey, he is a lifelong resident of Leesburg. He has two daughters, Maya and Zora. Mackey is a graduate of Cherokee County High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Auburn University. He currently works as the park manager of Cherokee Rock Village and is owner of Lookout Mountain Woodcraft.

Shannon Mackey is a member of the Centre Lion’s Club and the president and founder of the Northeast Alabama chapter of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society. As the creator of Save Cherokee Rock Village in 2012, Mackey was instrumental in preventing wind turbines from being built on Shinbone Ridge.

He has served as a combat medic in the Alabama Army National Guard and water sanitation technician with the U.S. Peace Corps in Honduras.